Lee esta página en español.
The Illicit Trade Labs are part of TRACIT’s continuous engagement with Customs administrations across the Americas. Each year, TRACIT co-organizes the Illicit Trade Summit with a Customs agency in the region.

Between Summits, TRACIT organizes the Illicit Trade Labs to support Customs on the ground. We also compile successful Customs initiatives in TRACIT's Compendium of Customs Best Practices, which serves as a basis for discussion at the next Summit.

About the Illicit Trade Lab

The Illicit Trade Labs move beyond traditional capacity building, equipping customs agencies with unique tools and strategies to improve the detection of illicit goods. 
​Each Lab focuses on:
  • priority routes,
  • enforcement challenges of the specific market,
  • designing and implementing effective risk-based controls. 
The Labs bring together senior officials, risk-profiling experts, industry specialists and technology providers to strengthen the operational response to illicit trade.
They build on the Illicit Trade Summit of the Americas, translating regional dialogue into operational action and bringing lessons from the field back to future Summits.

Featured Events

TRACIT co-hosts Illicit Trade Lab in the Dominican Republic

21-23 September 2026, Santo Domingo. TRACIT participated in a three day operational workshop on customs risk analysis, targeting, and profiling, with a focus on illicit alcohol trade, organized for the Dirección General de Aduanas (DGA). The event was co hosted by the Alliance Against Counterfeit Spirits (AACS), Moët Hennessy, and TRACIT (Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade). Training was delivered by SITRAC.Z.
The workshop is one of several efforts TRACIT co organizes between its annual Illicit Trade Summits of the Americas, working directly with customs administrations to turn regional dialogue into action on the ground.
As part of the opening session, TRACIT Director General Jeff Hardy set out priorities for customs inspections on illicit alcohol, from profiling high risk flows to intelligence sharing across customs, tax authorities, regulators, and legitimate industry. The workshop featured brand protection experts from Moët Hennessy and Diageo.
​
View the program here
TRACIT Director General Jeff Hardy speaking at the opening session of the operational workshop in Santo Domingo.

Our Approach

Each Lab is tailored to the host authority’s priorities and strengthens lasting cooperation between government and the private sector. Our unique approach combines complementary capabilities that reinforce one another:
  • Policy engagement: Work with senior Customs and border-control officials to define priorities and create the conditions for implementation.
  • Intelligence-led risk profiling: Use real shipment data and route analysis to develop targeted controls and, where possible, test them through field exercises at ports, airports or land borders.
  • Sector expertise: Draw on industry intelligence to identify emerging fraud patterns, high-risk products and practical detection methods.
  • Technology enablement: Demonstrate solutions that help authorities implement and sustain risk-based controls.
MEDIA CENTER
Event  Report
Third Illicit Trade Summit of Customs Directors-General, Americas Region (Rio, 2026)
​
More about the Summit here
TRACIT Report
Combating Illicit Trade in the Dominican Republic​
About
Work Program
Contact
Terms of Use
Join Us
Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade (TRACIT) is an independent, non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation under US tax code 501(c)(6).
​
© COPYRIGHT 2026. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Follow us